Bay Area honors Martin Luther King

The cold and the rain did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of thousands of people celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Bay Area on Monday. It's a chance to honor a remarkable life and to re-examine his remarkable dream.

In the American quest for civil rights, there is a long tradition of people speaking with their feet. They did it with Dr. Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama in 1965, among other places. And in San Francisco on Monday they did so again, and this time in remembrance of him.

"You can't know where you're going unless you know where you've been," said Kayra Brown, one of thousands who celebrated Dr. King today. Before the march, Brown rode the Freedom Train from San Jose and then spoke at a rally in San Francisco.

In case you lost count, Americans have celebrated Martain Luther King Day for 24 years. In San Francisco they've held this event for the last 22.

On this cold, rainy day, the crowd at Civic Auditorium might have been bigger, but Dr. King would have been pleased to see a diverse group. For some, a matter of keeping his dream alive by passing it to the next generation.

Cal Broomhead, from San Francisco, brought his daughter and a friend. They knew a little...

"That Martin Luther King held marches and speeches," said Sarah Broomhead, a fifth grade student.

"They get a little of it in school, but I wanted them to experience what it as a civic day," said Cal Broomhead.

There is no substitute for experience. When given a day, good to celebrate that day.

"It's really just about making sure we remember the legacy and remember that everything that people have gone through, to let us be able to come together like this, on a day like this," said Rubyjanine Falls from San Francisco.

It is the stuff of old black and white pictures in a world where one would hope that color should no longer matter.